Am 57 just retired early and want to try something new. Fed up with housework , decorating and ironing already

Question

I am not just sitting here bored! i love my home, I enjoy my grandchildren and i can fill every waking hour. But I just want something more stimulating and social to do for ME. Unfortunately my best friend died last year and somehow I don't want to do the things we planned with anyone else. I want to start my own journey and am looking for ideas that I may not have had.

Answer 1

Volunteer at an animal shelter, or some other cause that interests you. Join a book club or a gardening club or a quilting club or a wine tasting club... or start your own club. Get a dog if you don't have one already... they can take up alot of time and are alot of fun. Take up a new hobby or learn something new like guitar playing or how to speak spanish. Take a course for something like calligraphy or computer skills.

Most of all, do things that are enjoyable and make you happy... this is supposed to be YOUR time, don't waste it all on housework!

Answer 2

Perhaps you should find another job if being at home bores you .I am in the same position having retired early , For many years I had a high pressurise job and virtually no leisure time . Now I enjoy not being in a stressful situation and can relax . We are all different though so perhaps the best idea is to get some volunteer work in the local community . You can then limit the hours you want to work as against what you want to at home. Whatever you decide enjoy this stage of your life , you have earned it !!

Answer 3

1. Painting - the arty kind I mean...enrol in a class.
2. Join a walking group.
3. Volunteer.
4. Plan a long journey, do it yourself not through an agent, use the internet and go where you want.
5. Help your neighbours, family etc., who don't have so much time.
6. Write a book.
7. Learn to play a musical instrument, write your own music and record it.
8. Research family history or the history of your town etc.
9. Take a correspondence course...in mechanics, computer, foreign language, flower arranging, psychology or whatever.
10. Read all the books you never had time for, see all the films and listen to the music.

Answer 4

I don't blame you for being fed up. That's not what retirement is for. That's the stuff you did all the time you were working with your full-time job. Life is different now.

The answers given here are just great. Try one or all of them, you won't go wrong.

Here is one really important thing to remember about retirement - it's only a change in lifestyle. Search out the things you like to do FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT.

Kick back and enjoy life, but do not do it from a rocking chair. You are way, way, way too young for this. My Dad retired at almost 70 years old and gave me the best piece of advice I have ever received "When you retire, don't sit down, keep moving".

Perhaps I shouldn't say this to someone who has retired, however, a great portion of the Senior population is retiring, finding out they liked working better, change careers, and go back to work.

Whatever you decide, hug this life for all it's worth and you'll never be sorry.

Answer 5

I am 62 and NOT retired! BUT:
I decided to challenge myself and started hiking on the Appalachian Trail.
Started out with a few hours here and there and I soon discovered, not only was my body getting in shape, but my mental outlook had taken a turn for the better.
Toting a bottle of water, lunch, rain gear, binoculars, & camera (along with my dog) was all I needed to for a few hours of getting back to nature and finding me.
I am also a Red Cross volunteer for national disasters & have seen some pretty rough stuff, so hiking is very rewarding for me, & I get to meet & chat with some of the nicest folks too.
Bear in mind these folks are all about nature and caring for their trail too.
I hike, on average now, about 6-8 hrs. a day for 2-3 days at a clip (when I get the chance).
Is this something you might like to do? Maybe, maybe not.
But it sure helps get you in shape for other things that may attract your attention.
By the way: I have had 3 spinal surgeries in last 12 yrs. & had polio when I was a kid. This old broad is NOt about to toss in the towel.
Good luck with your quest.

Answer 6

Get a Harley, take in some bike rallies. Get a recreational pilots license. Take a trip overseas - start with China, then hop on over the Paris or Australia - sign up for a womans outdoor adventure group - go white water rafting, take up sailing, take some college courses or take some metal sculpture classes, jump out of a plane, if you are able bodied there is so much you can do ! The skies the limit - really.

Answer 7

Take an art class, like painting, sculpture, ceramics, etc. Or pick up hiking. If you're in the U.S., the Sierra club has chapters all over the country. Get a gourmet cookbook and try some new recipes. Horticulture? Bungee jumping! Do some volunteer work -- surprisingly rewarding. Would you consider getting politically involved? You might try that. Or just get a part time job at a coffee shop or bookstore. Hope this helps.

Answer 8

Join some groups. Anything interesting in your area?
Here, in this small town, there's the museum funding group, a ceramics group, church groups. And bigger towns have more groups. Sure to be some that interest you n your area, if you'll look around a little.

Volunteer. Get out and help someone. Do Meals on Wheels. Or drive seniors to the doctor or out to shop. What could you do at your hospital to help patients and families feel better? Or, whatever. Many other volunteer groups out there.

If you're busy and feeling helpful to others, it will help you, too.

Very important to get out of your house and spend time with other people. Important to feel useful. And, important to find something that you really love doing.

As for me, I volunteer at church. Teach Jr Church and Sunday School. Also get into the other church things. Potlucks, etc. And I do ceramics because that is a thing that I totally enjoy for myself. And a Bible Study night, with people who are now my good friends.

Answer 9

When I retired, I decided to try something new. It was meant to be symbolic and therapeutic - the beginning of a new era.

I spent some time at the newsagents looking at magazines for inspiration, even bought a few! In the end I settled for cross stitch, it's creative and absorbing.

There's so much choice really, from the productive, like arts and crafts, writing or gardening, to the purely for pleasure like travel, drama, singing and sport or even learning a language. If magazines don't inspire you, try the adult education centre, the new prospectus should be out now.
The world is your oyster, aha, did I mention fishing!

Good luck, hope you find what you're after.

Answer 10

Try taking up a course at your local college.

It doesn't have to be a degree, but you could do a course in anything from photography to cake decorating. Is there something you wish you had done when you were younger but never got around to doing it. Would you like to learn a foreign language, write a book, discover your family tree ????

Your local college will have a prospectus available with all the courses.

Find an hobbies that you enjoy. Cross-stitching, card making, baking. Theres plenty to do, you just have to decide what you would really like to do and what you think you would be able to stick to